Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!portal!cup.portal.com!thad
From: thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: "baud" == "bits"/"second"
Message-ID: <20255@cup.portal.com>
Date: 9 Jul 89 06:55:49 GMT
References: <42300@bbn.COM> <8107@bsu-cs.bsu.edu>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 45

Rahul Dhesi's comments:

"	By the way, your definition of "herz" is wrong too;  that's what you
	write on towels ("hiz" and "herz").  The correct scientific name for
	"cycles per second" is "hertz", abbreviated "Hz".
"
reminded me of something circa 1965, when the term "Hertz"/Hz came into vogue.

I was at the Electronic Defense Labs then, working with microwave equipment
whose frequencies were commonly suffixed with "GC" (Giga Cycles).  It was
easy to SAY "GC" (gee cee).  One person simply could NOT say GigaHertz and
commented (paraphrased):

"Why the f**k couldn't they leave things well enough alone and choose to
honor Charles Proteus Steinmetz (CPS) instead, and retain the abbreviation
``CPS''?  Steinmetz' contributions were just as important as Hertz'."

Food for thought, eh?  :-)

BTW, <WHICH> "Hertz" was the one honored?  I just looked in my dictionary
and found:

"Hertz (herts), Gustav, 1887-1950, German physicist. -- Heinrich, 1857-1894,
German physicist.
"
And one entry further up, I find:

"hertz (hu^rts) [ The "^" should be over the "u"; note the different
pronunciation AND the lower case ] n.  Physics.  A unit of electromagnetic
wave frequency, equal to one cycle per second. [ after Heinrich Hertz ].
"
And there's also this entry:

"Steinmetz (stin'mets), Charles Proteus, 1865-1923, U.S. Electrical Engineer
born in Germany.
"

Oh well!  :-)

I've noticed also the US Metrification Committee has been abandoned, and
speed limit signs and automobile speedometers (in the USA) no longer need to
have the km/h markings.  A free beer to whomever guesses what THIS has to do
with the Amiga (and citing the "units" program doesn't count! :-)

Thad Floryan [ thad@cup.portal.com (OR) ..!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!thad ]